Al Jazeera, one of the few media organisations that reports independently from the West Asian region, has responded strongly to demands that it be shut down. The demand was part of a 13-point charter given to Qatar, where the channel has its headquarters by Saudi Arabia and its allies as the price for lifting their almost three-week-long diplomatic blockade of that country. So how and why has Al Jazeera got embroiled in the middle of what's being seen as the worst diplomatic crisis in West Asia since Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990? In a video, Al Jazeera has said any call for closing down or obstructing access its channels is an attempt to silence freedom of expression. (video courtesy:Aljazeera)